by Abby Ayles
As he thought this, she looked upon his face and lightly nibbled at her bottom lip in thought. He wondered what on earth she could be thinking about as she looked at him so intently. “Do you suppose that it would be terribly improper to dance with you again?” she asked him timidly.
He looked into her lovely blue eyes and laughed, holding a hand to his stomach in an effort to keep his chuckle from being too loud and arousing too much attention. Thankfully, the musicians played on and drowned them out somewhat. “It would be most improper,” Rodrick told her with a grin.
“That is why I think we mustn’t do it. We can go for a walk around the room instead.”
Noelle giggled, seemingly pleased that he wished to spend more time with her. “Really, Mr. Edwards. You are incorrigible.”
The truth was that he actually wasn’t. Normally, he would have shied away from the ball entirely, were it not for his dear cousin wishing him to join him. But now that he was there in the midst of it all with an enchanting lady on his arm, he didn’t believe there was any harm in having a bit of fun.
After all, was it not the point of a ball? To have fun and be merry with good friends in town?
I needn’t worry too much about dancing with this fine lady tonight, he told himself. Why, it’s not likely that we shall ever cross paths like this again. It wasn’t every day that a lady like Noelle would be found alone on a dance floor, pining for a partner who was never to come.
Chapter 7
There was no use in fretting over the gentleman not coming, Noelle knew. Especially because her mother wasn’t around to remark upon it. She’d gone into the study near the foyer of the manor and found her parents and the viscount with their port.
As she imagined it all now, she couldn’t believe the turn of events. The ball hadn’t been so horrible after all. She even found a partner worthy of the trouble.
Mr. Rodrick Edwards, she thought with a smile as she sat up in her bed the following morning. He was the nephew of an earl, not a very good prospect, but oh was he handsome. And gentle and charming.
Kitty had done well for herself, choosing his cousin – the earl’s son. Noelle almost couldn’t stand it. Her younger sister had the good fortune of pairing up with a nobleman while she…
She still couldn’t believe that the Marquess of Fairfax hadn’t even deigned to make the shortest of appearances. She had to wonder if he thought that he was better than everyone else. Better than her.
Of course, he’s probably not familiar with my mother’s plot to marry me off to him, she thought. But what else is a man like him supposed to think when he’s invited to such a ball? Everyone in the London ton knew that balls were primarily meant for courting and arranging matches.
Suddenly, a knock on the bedroom door woke Lady Noelle from her reverie. Edith, her maid, bowed and made her way into the room. “Good morning, milady,” she said.
“I imagine you slept well after such a wonderful ball last night.”
Noelle smiled a bit at her maid. “Yes, it was lovely,” she replied. “I found the company much better than I’d initially thought it would be.”
Edith smiled knowingly back at her. She knew of her lady’s dislike of balls and the pompous men who came to them; anyone who’d been near and had eyes had noticed Noelle dancing with the handsome young stranger.
“Were you quite relieved when Lord Drake didn’t arrive?” she asked her curiously. “I know that you weren’t thrilled to learn that he was invited by your mother.”
“You and I both know the answer to that,” Noelle said to her with a laugh. “I might be biased, but whenever I learn someone is named ‘The Marquess of…’ I automatically wish to ignore them entirely.”
Edith laughed softly, not wishing to be improper but greatly amused by her mistress. “Would you like me to help you into your day dress now, milady? Your mother and sisters are downstairs at the table to break their fast.”
“Oh, well, then we mustn’t make them wait,” Noelle said in agreement, getting out of bed at once so that the maid could undress her and redress her to greet the day. One thing she liked about Edith was that she never made her corset too tight. Noelle could never quite stand the way some maids tightened until the wind was knocked out of their lady’s breast.
A lady shouldn’t have to always be so uncomfortable, she thought. A bit of shapeliness is all I really need. She admired her reflection as she now stood before her mirror, dressed in a white gown with little cranberries in its pattern.
A cranberry-colored ribbon was tied into a bow at the back, nicely outlining her empire waist.
Noelle frankly found the idea of day dresses and evening dresses rather silly. She didn’t see the point in having to change what one was wearing simply because of the time of day, or even because of the activities therein.
As soon as she was properly dressed, she left her bedchamber and walked down the stairs in her slippers, barely making any sound at all. Still, her mother and sisters looked at her as soon as she entered the dining room as if they’d heard her every step. “I hope that I haven’t kept you waiting,” she said to them, taking a seat at the table beside her mother.
The duchess smiled at her daughter. “Oh, we haven’t been waiting long, dear. Did you have a nice sleep?”
“I bet you did,” Kitty cut in, grinning rather impishly at her. “After dancing the night away with your handsome and mysterious partner.”
Their mother raised her eyebrows curiously. “Oh? Did Lord Drake arrive without my knowing it? You know, I waited all night for him to be announced at the door…”
Alas, Noelle had to shake her head. “No, Mother. He never appeared.”
“Oh, but you danced with someone much better!” Catherine went on. She turned her face to look at their mother, undeterred by the duchess’s displeased expression. “Did you know that the Viscount of Easton came to the ball – and he had the most handsome cousin at his side for Noelle?”
Lady Noelle blanched a bit at that. Really, she makes it sound as if I’d been given table scraps. Must she phrase it like that?
Their mother was giving her such a queer look now. She’d set aside her fork, which Noelle knew meant a lecture was about to begin. “Did your father and I not instruct you to keep your dance card clear in favor of the Marquess of Fairfax?” she demanded.
“Yes, Mother,” Noelle replied. “But I thought it would be rude if I were to refuse Mr. Edwards.”
“Mister Edwards,” her mother said. “That’s exactly the point. The eldest daughter of a duke does not marry a gentleman with no title.”
Noelle looked down at her plate of food. She’d predicted this conversation, which was why she hadn’t wanted to dance with him at first… “I thought that it might look bad for me – for the family – if I was sitting there without a single dance partner all night.”
It was perfectly acceptable for someone like Emily, who’d partnered herself with her book all night, but for someone like Lady Noelle, it was unseemly. Even if her mother preferred for her to save her dance card for marquesses and viscounts.
Her mother looked at her thoughtfully but she still didn’t look thrilled or appear to be in agreement with her.
“Oh, but I danced with a viscount,” Catherine said.
Noelle wished that her sister wouldn’t gloat so much.
“Lord Edwards, the Viscount of Easton,” Catherine went on with stars in her eyes. “He was so sweet and charming. I think that he liked me very much.”
“Don’t they all?” Emily interjected.
Noelle let a laugh escape her, careful not to choke on her greens.
Kitty glowered at the pair of them. “Anyway, it was better than you did, Emily. You know she was reading all night long.”
Emily gasped. Noelle slowly shook her head at Catherine.
Their mother clattered her silverware against her plate. “Emily!” she admonished. “You know the rules!”
Emily looked down at her hands in her lap. “Yes, ma’
am,” she said in a guilty voice.
Noelle glared at Kitty. They, of course, knew all about it, but none of them were going to get Emily into trouble for something so inconsequential. Not every girl liked to dance, and Emily was one such girl.
“I think you ought to go upstairs to your room,” their mother said to Emily. “You’re done with your breakfast.”
The girl gasped a little but didn’t argue. She slowly got up from her chair, tossing her white napkin onto the table beside her plate. Noelle watched her remorsefully as she left the room.
“Mother, she wasn’t trying to do anything wrong. I made sure that she was sociable. She spoke some with the Viscount of Easton and his cousin.”
Noelle knew that there would be no use in campaigning for Emily. All she could do was hope that her foolish sister wouldn’t do something like that again. For her part, she had to concern herself with securing a meeting with the Marquess of Fairfax… And forget any thoughts of Mr. Edwards.
After breakfast, she left the table and went back up to her bedroom. She knew that it wouldn’t do to stay sequestered in there all day as if she’d done something wrong, so she took up her drawing pad and her pencil. She carried these things back downstairs and into the sitting room.
“Noelle?” Catherine called for her before she could even touch her pencil to the paper. Her sister came walking towards her from the dining area, a big smile on her face. “Really, you’re not planning to just draw at home all day, are you?”
Rolling her eyes, Noelle set her pencil down on the table. “I was planning on it, yes. I suppose you have a better idea of what I should do?”
Kitty nodded her head. “I was thinking that we could go dress shopping with Mother,” she said, biting her lip in her anticipation.
Of course you were, Noelle thought, but she smiled at her sister. She supposed that some fresh air would do them both some good after how stuffy things had been in their full house last night.
“Does Mother know about this?” she asked her. “Or are you volunteering her without her knowledge?”
Kitty giggled. “Noelle, you’re silly. Of course I’ve already asked her. And she said we should bring the others along.” She stuck her tongue out at this.
“Well, I don’t see why we should get new dresses and they should be left out of it,” Noelle said. “You and I both know that Emily could use some new clothing.”
Crinkling up her nose a little, Kitty nodded her head. “Just so!” she agreed. “I think it will be so much fun, don’t you?”
Noelle set aside her drawing pad in a corner of the room. “I think so,” she replied. “And it will also be helpful since new styles are always coming into fashion.”
She didn’t honestly think that so vapid of an excursion would be very amusing for her, but it was true that some new frocks would do her good. She had a feeling that her mother was going to insist that they attend another ball before too many days went by, and she wished to be prepared for that eventuality.
Particularly if her intended beau finally graced her with his presence.
Or if Mr. Edwards should reappear, she thought with a blush. She knew that she shouldn’t entertain more thoughts about him, but she couldn’t help herself. Noelle wished that she was free to spend time with him the way she spent time with other eligible young men.
She didn’t know anything about the handsome Mr. Rodrick Edwards, other than the fact that he was the nephew of an earl and he had good humor about him. He’d gone so far as to compliment her sister Emily, and he hadn’t really needed to do that.
The Fletcher ladies went to three dress boutiques in the city. One thing was for sure: they certainly never shied away from spending the Duke of Salisbury’s money. Their mother had taught them that one of their chief duties as noblewomen was to spend what was necessary to dress well for society.
Anna and Beth were deeply pleased to be included in this outing. As the younger sisters, they normally took the gowns that their elder sisters outgrew or lost interest in. On this afternoon, their mother was in good humor and it was to their good fortune.
I wonder what sort of gown the marquess would like, Noelle thought absently as she wandered around the boutiques. It was nigh impossible to try to dress for someone whom she’d never met or even laid eyes on before.
All she knew was that Lord Drake was more than likely just like all of the rest. He wouldn’t really even care what she was wearing. He would care only for how much money her parents boasted.
It was a comfort to her to know that she had the reputation for being a pretty young lady. She just wished that she could be regarded as interesting more often than not…
Noelle couldn’t help but notice as she regarded her lovely new emerald green gown, upon its purchase, that it resembled the color of a certain gentleman’s eyes… It may have been a coincidence, of course. After all, green had always been her favorite color.
Chapter 8
Alphonse was not an easy man to track down, but he paid a call to Rodrick a few days after the Salisbury ball. “How are you doing, Rodrick, my good man?” he asked him, gently patting him between the shoulder blades in a manner that wasn’t entirely all that gentle.
Rodrick felt a bit annoyed at the man for smiling so much and not seeming the least bit remorseful that he’d missed the party where he was – apparently – meant to be the main guest. Lady Noelle did seem so upset.
“You missed a cracker of a party the other night, Fairfax,” he replied, keeping things jovial in spite of feeling the opposite.
“Oh, really?” Alphonse asked him casually, pouring himself a glass of brandy. “Did the lady seem in good spirits?”
“As a matter of fact, she did,” Rodrick answered. “She was rather disappointed that you did not make an appearance, though.”
The marquess waved a dismissive hand. He sat down languidly on the sofa in Rodrick’s sitting room and appeared to be more interested in making himself at home than in discussing disappointed debutantes.
Rodrick poured himself another drink and sat in a chair beside the couch. It had been some time since Alphonse had last visited Wildhill; he usually seemed to favor James’s Westwood estate house instead.
It was no real surprise why. Though the two were friends since they were boys, Alphonse prized companionship with Rodrick’s titled cousin over him.
Lady Noelle, too, seemed to be preoccupied with status and nobility over the full enjoyment of the party. But still she had charmed Rodrick and he so hoped to see more of her.
He would do well to influence Alphonse into attending the next ball if only to please the lady. He doesn’t have to spend all of his time with her; in fact, I’d prefer if he did not.
“One pretty face at a ball is the same as another,” the marquess said, holding his glass before him as he tasted the brandy. “I’m sure I shall have the occasion to meet her soon enough.”
Rodrick felt uneasy. “I didn’t like to see the poor girl’s disappointment in her eyes,” he said.
“Man, you are growing soft,” Alphonse said with a grin to his friend. “And not just about the stomach!”
He reached over and patted Rodrick’s belly with the back of his hand.
Rodrick laughed a little in spite of himself. “You’re looking well-fed yourself, Marquess.”
Alphonse patted his own stomach then, proudly. “It is one of the curses of engaging with the ton night after night.”
Suddenly, he looked around the room. “Speaking of engaging with the ton,” he said, “where is your delightful mother?”
Rodrick didn’t have the slightest idea and he told his friend such. His mother was fond of going off into the house and doing her own thing in order to entertain herself.
Mrs. Eleanor Edwards came down the staircase as soon as she was called forth by her son. “Oh, Lord Drake! This is a surprise indeed!”
She came down quickly as soon as she realized that Rodrick’s friend was there. She greeted him with a curtsy and a
friendly kiss on his cheek.
Alphonse gladly leaned down towards her so he could receive this kiss from the woman. He was amused and charmed by Mrs. Edwards, perhaps partially because he knew how much it agitated Rodrick.
“You missed a wonderful party the other night,” she said to Fairfax. “Of course, I only watched from the edges of the room. Rodrick, who was that lovely young lady you were dancing with?”
Rodrick’s face reddened considerably in his embarrassment. He didn’t wish for his best companion to know that he’d spent most of the evening dancing and getting acquainted with Lady Noelle himself.
